The Sunglasses Thread

“This is just a thread to see how many of you own real sunglasses, not stupid $5 wal-mart ones either. I own a pair of Smiths. They are a french company that specializes in sun glasses for sports like mountaineering, skiing, and biking. They are pretty nice. They have interchangable lenses. I have three diiferent sets. A dark set, a medium set and yellow set. You can also buy more seperatly. The really nice thing about them is that the lenses are optical grade and Neutral density. That means that they don't tint you vision. You see everything exactly like you would if you weren't wearing the glasses, only it's dimmer.”

“Elitist Pig.”

“I have a pair of X-ray Specs I got from the back of a comic book when I was 7. I can see through walls and stuff.”

“Should I mention my watch?”

“I have Smith's too. For those of you who wear glasses and don't want LASIK, they make some with prescription inserts.”

“Still got a pair of LL Bean glacier glasses my parents got me for Christmas more than 15 years ago.”

“I wore my sunglasses at night...





then I sat on them and they broke”

“I used to wear Vuarnet's exclusively, until I got a pair of Maui Jim's. Now I'm a died in the wool Maui Jim fan.”

“Mine were made for the USAF and cost awhole lot and you'al paid for'm.”

“Seriously. I've only bought cheap-o sunglasses. I had a pair of polarized glasses that I liked quite a bit, but like I said I broke them. I don't know if I can justify buying an expensive pair. So, why should I buy an expensive pair of sunglasses?”

“For your eyes and old age”

“Prescription sunglasses...albeit CHEAP LENS EXPRESS prescription sunglasses.”

“I've used JT glasses for 12 years now with a few interchangeable lenses. I use the smoke lens for sunny days, the iridium lens for bright snow, the yellow lens for overcast days and the clear lens for mountain biking at night. I broke one pair and the company sent me a new pair free.”

“I only wear those cool raybans that southern cops and tin-pot dictators wear, oh yeah and my WWF "get some baby" sunglasses.”

“Bolle Coachwhips, these things are tough!”

“I keep mine from breaking by keeping them in a TNF hard sunglass case.”

“Now tell me about the watch.”

“Who wants to bet that it is a sunnto. I've got a pair of minutes. Before that I had some reptiles I have no idea what happened to that pair.”

“It's a true backpacking watch. It tracks the barametric pressure over a twelve hour period, so you can roughly guess the weather. It also gives the altitude and temperature and lets you track changes in temp and altitude as you hike. All pressure and altitude data is graphically displayed for easily identifying trends and you can also view the altutude/temperature data at individual points.”

“What kind is it? I've got the Vector. Sounds very similair. I'm such a gear freak. I admit it, no shame here. You can hardly walk into my gear room anymore, just a small space in the middle to turn around in.”

“JesterTrail - a friend of mine has the Minutes. I like them, cool shades. And that's what counts, right?! Who cares what they do for your eyes, as long as the bears think you look cool.”

“funny how everything/thread becomes a urination contest amongst the gear heads.

You are a fool to drop a huge wad of cash on glasses. Statement makers, had them before they break, scratch and get lost just as easy as the cheapies. Rather buy beer than worry about 90$ worth of glasses.

I'm blessed w/ dark eyes. Really wear them because they ruin the color of things most of the time. But if I need to look COOL I 'll bust them out.”

“I disagree, good sunglasses will not break or scratch as easily as cheapies. True you can lose 'em just as easy, but if you've just dropped $100 bucks or more on 'em, you probably won't.”

“m-nutz, my watch is a Casio Pathfinder. It's really nice because it has an analog display with digital overlay. I also agree that good sunglasses don't break like cheap ones. A good reason is that you pay more attention to what you do with them. Also the good thing about my glasses is that if you scratch a lens, you can just replace it with another.”

“I lose about 3 pairs of sunglasses per year, so I buy the cheap ones.”

“deathmarch99 - the interchangeable lens on the Smiths sounds like a good idea. I know sometimes I wish I had a lighter lens in my Bolles.”

“I think this thread is really a ploy by DM99 to get a yuppy head count.”

“Check out the website. I've got the Mainline model in the slider series.”

“Sunglass are an important piece of equipment, anyone who has experenced sun blindness can tell you. BUT a watch, you people plan to catch a bus, maybe meet to do lunch. You have the sun, so daytime or nightime is not enough for you.”

“But the sun doesn't tell you the Atmospheric pressue and the altitude, does it?”

“All is there for one to see, if you can read thr signs paleface.”

“DM99, you really need to know atmospheric pressure? Damn, that takes hikin to a level of science. I can see altitude, but good orienteering skills (triangulation) can do much the same. I must say though that gadgets are cool.
To guess at upcoming weather , watch animals and their behavior they speak volumes. Plus lookin at the sky periodically helps too ;^)”

“Yea, but sometime it's just nice to know. Plus I'm a gearhead and in meteorology, what could be better then a watch with the pressure on it?”

“You start talking into it we'll change your name to Dick Tracy.”

“I like Oakleys. Does anyone else?”

“I like their X-metals, but for hiking I prefer Smiths or Julbo. That's what they're made for.”

“i had a few oakleys and bolles.

now i just buy cheap shades. i usually don't even wear them.

and what the hell do you need a watch for? out in the woods? you must be kidding. between your deathmarchin' , shade-wearin' and timekeepin', you must have some REAL fun!”

“About the weather. I always predict rain and I am right 90% of the time. It's not much of a science. It just doesn't change a whole lot. But like HyperPacker said if it is gonna be something really bad watching animals can let you know that.”

“I've had a few experiences where I was on a mountain with blue sky and everybody was just goofin off, but I saw a big ol' sudden drop in pressure, and sure enough a storm blew unnanounced over the peak of the mountain.”

“I watch all those animals that are wearing those watches, when they either start leaving or putting up tents I figure its a sign.”

“I picked up a nice (real) pair of Oakley(SP?) two years ago in Cancoon. Still no scratches. Yippy.


The rezone I don?t know what the spelling is, is because I wear them so much that the paint wore off. I guess that would happen to any pair of shades.”

“I had a pair where the paint wore off too, but they cost my $5 in New York”

“Cheap sunglasses for me, I lose 'em, scratch 'em up, and step on 'em all the time. I'm sure if I paid $100/pair that wouldn't change. It's hard to find sunglasses that are just right - not for looks but for comfort and protection - I wear my sunglasses most of the time when I'm outside.”

“I paid 115$, I have great care for all my posetions(sp?)”

“I think if you pay more for something you generally take care of it. You pay thousands for your car; how often do you lose the keys?

I also think things like optical quality glass/crystal, true color transmission, toric curves (matching the curves of your eyes), and so forth make a difference with your eyesight, especially for people who wear sunglasses whenever they are outside. Less headaches and eyestrain at the end of the day.

Add things like quality polarization, spring hinges, and waterproofness, and you won't believe you ever looked through a $5 pair of sunglasses.



Or, I can just say a $9 pair of boots at Wal-Mart and a $24 tent do the same thing, so why pay more?”

“I used to make glasses for a living. The main thing is to get UV protection. Everything else is just a bonus. Sunglasses are very important in the long run. If you take care of your eyes now your chances of getting cateracts will be considerably less lator.

I personally like serengeti photochromatic glasses. I find that what you pay for in a more expensive pair is durability and comfort. Spring hinges are a must.”

“D99 - "Smith's Head Office is based in Ketchum, Idaho" from thier web site.

They started with ski stuff.

They are not french. That would be "Le Smith"”

“May be this is a stupid question - but what do prescription wearers do? I was waiting for someone else to mention it. I just started wearing prescriptions in the last year. Do I get lenses and frames from an eyeglass store now, or buy them from the gear stores and have lenses made? The gear stores have better selection and prices. What are "inserts"?”

“Most places can cut lenses to match whatever frames you have, but it may be cheaper to get the package deal from the eyeglass store.

Inserts may be referring to custom sunglass clipons that come with your frames, making them look like sunglasses without a bulky aftermarket clip on. That's what I have, but primarily wear contacts and sunglasses.”

“Some Smith sunglasses have removable lenses. The lenses just slide out and you can put different ones in. As for Smith being in Idaho, the frame of the glasses say "France". So the probably are a French company with an American headquarters.”